wholesale prices

  • Home supply and services

    A bumpy ride: Why rising wholesale prices are impacting NTS charges

    Due to the current energy crisis, consumer energy bills have been exposed to substantial increases over the past year. The recent rise in wholesale prices has had knock-on effects in many non-commodity costs within consumer bills, some of which will be baked into charges for several years to come In...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Unlocking REMA: emerging market views

    Recent market events have continued to highlight the challenges of the energy trilemma, specifically the need to decarbonise the energy system while ensuring energy security and affordability. The government announced in April 2022 it would be undertaking a Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) to address these issues, and in...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Elevated Wholesale Price in the NEM: QLD on the verge of triggering Administered Price Cap (APC) again

    The Administered Price Cap (APC) was triggered for the first state on 12 June at 6:55 am as a result of QLD breaching the Cumulative Price Threshold (CPT) of $1,359,100 for the rolling 7-day period. This caused the withdrawal of capacities by gas generators that could not recover fuel costs...

  • Home supply and services

    Domestic Third Party Charges: 2022-23 outlook

    The new energy price cap will come into effect from April, hitting a record high level which will see domestic consumers paying over 50% more per year in their energy bills. Although much of this increase is driven by rising wholesale prices, Third Party Charges (TPCs), reflecting non-commodity energy costs,...

  • Home supply and services

    No easy fix: tariff prices remain high

    In response to the unprecedented increases in global gas prices, Ofgem announced last week time limited measures “to help stabilise” the supply market. This includes a requirement for all domestic suppliers to offer existing customers the same tariffs available to new customers from 14 April, echoing changes made by the...

  • Home supply and services

    Over a third of energy suppliers have left the market

    The domestic supplier market is facing a turbulent time with high wholesale prices causing distress and a series of supplier exits in the energy sector. This week's 'Chart of the week' examines these suppliers exits and their effect on the domestic market.

  • Home supply and services

    Supplier exits predicted to trigger Renewable Obligation mutualisation

    Over the past few weeks, the energy market has been under the microscope as high wholesale prices and a wave of suppliers exiting the market has hit the headlines. Amid challenging wholesale market conditions for suppliers, they are now also facing the compliance deadlines for 2020-21 of the Renewables Obligation...

  • Home supply and services

    Domestic switching falls as the savings gap is squeezed

    With day-ahead gas reaching an all-time high of 187.50p/th as of 15 September, it has been a record-breaking summer for wholesale energy prices. This Chart of the Week explores the impact these high prices are having on domestic tariffs and consumer switching behaviour.

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | No averages allowed: a look at recent NEM spot prices

    2020 was a tame year for the National Electricity Market (NEM), with few contingency events of note (apart from the Q1 separation of Victoria (VIC) and South Australia (SA)) and wholesale spot prices trending to their lowest in over five years. In contrast, 2021 has taken an eventful turn with...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Up and down: price volatility in Queensland

    In our previous ‘Chart of the week’, we observed increased intraday price volatility since late May, where we are seeing higher morning and evening prices. The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO’s) released Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report for Q2 2021 attributed the price increase to reduction of thermal generation supply...

  • Home supply and services

    900,000 domestic customers impacted by SoLR over last two years

    Across 2020 and 2019, 887,000 domestic customers were supplied by a company which exited the market via the Supplier of Last Resort mechanism (SoLR). On average, this is around 1.7% of the market per year. In 2018, 551,000 domestic customers were supplied by a company which entered the Supplier of...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Default tariff cap set to rise by at least £100 for coming winter

    The default tariff price cap for a typical dual fuel direct debit customer looks set to increase by over £100 for the Winter 2021-22 period, according to an initial assessment from Cornwall Insight’s bi-annual tariff cap predictor. The latest forecast for the cap indicates that it will increase to around...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Hungry ducks – Can we flatten the belly of the ducks?

    Rooftop solar installations have continued record growth in 2020, as reported by Clean Energy Regulator (CER) in its latest December Quarterly Carbon Market Reports. In the report, 3GW of rooftop solar capacity was installed in 2020, which is a year-on-year increase of 40%. This brings the total rooftop solar capacity...

  • Power and gas networks

    Australian Chart of the week | Green hydrogen costs plummet, LNG prices soar

    The ACCC currently calculates the LNG netback price as the price a gas exporter could receive for gas exports excluding the costs to convert and ship the gas. Asian cold weather and supply bottlenecks have driven the February LNG netback price to nearly $20 a gigajoule, more than double the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Down, down, prices are down… but is it sustainable?

    Following a comparatively mild Q1, electricity prices have fallen significantly in Q2. While a drop in price is expected as we move from peak demand conditions in Q1 to the shoulder Q2, the surprising element is the level to which prices have fallen. Average quarterly prices in Q2 2020 were...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Free fallin’: Green generator values hit hard by COVID-19

    Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a downturn in GB power demand and an associated slump in wholesale prices. This has has resulted in a sharp decline in green generator revenues. However, the magnitude of these impacts depends heavily on a generators’ routes to market and trading choices. We...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Falling wholesale power prices, but for how long?

    The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has recently published its Residential Electricity Price Trends report. The report's key finding shows that household power prices may fall over the next three years. This is likely due to a drop in wholesale prices which is a consequence of improved supply of generation...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Prices in the NEM: Is variability the new black?

    The price escalation in the NEM in recent years has been well documented. Closure of ‘low-cost’ coal generation (particularly Hazelwood) has seen average prices in the NEM increase significantly. This is a result of the overall supply/ demand balance tightening. Some of this tightness has been alleviated by the significant...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Chart of the week | Woah, we’re half way there – H119 wholesale price review

    Half way through 2019, wholesale power and gas contracts have tumbled, with day-ahead NBP gas falling to a two year low, down 58% in six months. In this Chart of the Week, we explore some of these highlights from the first half of the year and see why prices across the wholesale power...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Higher, Broader, Faster, Longer

    Wholesale price movements and pending regulatory changes are causing suppliers to amend the prices and types of domestic contracts they offer. Under a rising wholesale market, suppliers will adjust their tariffs more regularly and upwards. This is to ensure that suppliers recoup enough money to cover the additional costs. Our...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Scarcer snakes and longer ladders: the tariff game

    With the wholesale market surging by 11% over the last three months, as well as the prospect of a default tariff cap by the end of the year, suppliers of all shapes and sizes have been taking stock and adjusting prices. Between the end of June and the end of...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Will the wholesale bulls finally run out of steam?

    In light of the continuing running of the bulls, this week’s Chart of the Week offers a wholesale market snapshot. It observes what has been driving recent power, gas and commodity prices. It then seeks to offer an outlook for this bullish momentum. Though the chart shows day-ahead gas and power prices...